CAIRO, Jan 12 (Aswat Masriya) – The Cairo Criminal Court referred on Monday four defendants tried in absentia to the Grand Mufti to consider serving them death sentences over charges of espionage.

The defendants are accused of belonging to the al-Qaeda militant group and supplying it with intelligence regarding Egypt's security forces.

The court will decide on serving them death sentences on February 8, after consulting the Grand Mufti, Egypt's top religious authority. The Mufti's decisions are not legally binding, yet it is customary for the court to adopt them.

The judge said the defendants "established and ran an illegal group" from 2008 until 2013 with the purpose of "stalling the constitution", "halting the work of state institutions", and "attacking citizens's personal freedoms."

The defendants were also accused of cooperating with Qaeda personnel in carrying out "terrorist operations" against army forces in Sinai, as well as attacks against the United States and the French Embassies and their personnel in Cairo.

Egypt's top prosecutor had referred the four defendants to the criminal court in March 2014.